Parsa KAMEHKHOSH

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Parsa KAMEHKHOSH

Participating Project	Exchange Residency Program (Creators from abroad)
Activity Based	Helsinki
City	Tokyo
Period	2022.9 - 2022.11

Purpose of the residency 

To explore the notion of process/processing in the context of the Japanese philosophy and ethics of making things, and in correspondence with performance as an art practice. On the one hand, this exploration involves, the close observation of the elements of space, body, materials, and duration in crafts traditions, and on the other, it is an effort to connect to the supernatural dimensions of what takes place in the Japanese workspace. Eventually, the aim is to see how these findings would influence the series of performances that I’m currently working on, and manifest themselves on different levels in my art practice. 

Plan during the residency

・Study the concepts according to the work plan.
・Pay visits to my fellow Tokyo-based artists, craft workers, and related museums and institutions.
・Establish contacts for future collaborations.
・Carry on with the ongoing performance project.
・Perform one or two of the ideas live in the city of Tokyo on a couple of occasions.

Activities during the residency

Having a general plan in mind, I tried to take in and internalize whatever this trip puts forward and be flexible in responding to it. Since this was my first time in Japan, I was also curious to see how much of the image I had from Japan prior to this trip is corresponding with reality. I started my observation by focusing on the elements of space, body, materials, and duration in Japanese craft traditions. In this path, I also came across a few realizations (for example, the special aesthetic value of shadows in Japanese aesthetics and the significant presence of smells in Tokyo) that in the end found the ways to the piece I presented for the open studio. I also further developed two of my other ongoing projects while in Japan.

Outcome of the residency

After approximately 40 days of observation, I managed to find a common ground between my original plan before coming to Japan and my observations in Japan. The durational performance piece I developed there, in my opinion, is particularly a Japanese piece. Meaning that if it was not for this trip, I might have never made it. The title of the piece is Rubbing a stone in a piece of wood in the neighborhood. This experience set a stepping stone for a new series of durational performances with a focus on connecting the natural and supernatural dimensions of life through crafting processes. Besides, while in Japan, I visited multiple galleries and art spaces and met gallerists and curators in order to familiarize myself with the Tokyo art scene for future collaborations.

Creator Information